Wednesday, October 31, 2007

We took Brok out trick or treating tonight & had a blast. He is so much fun! Pictures are coming, He was a purple dragon. Hope you all had fun & were safe!

It was so cute today & its something that made me want to cry... Kevin & I always are texting back & forth about stuff & when he left for school today, he said I love you (which is normal) but he said make sure Brok knows I love him too. He is such a good daddy & I love him so much. Brok gets so excited to see him whenever we go get him, he smiles the biggest toothless grin & his face just lights up to hear his daddy's voice. I love you babe!

So do you ever wonder about how life works itself out in the strangest ways? This week has been really crazy getting things done her e& what not... But you will never guess... those of you who know what has been going on... The lady that I turned down to nanny for was still looking & we are having a really hard time scheduling with the job I took, she wants really odd hours & with Kevin living with me it just wasn't working out right & well needless to say, I will not be working for her but Kristen, the other job, would like me... I met with her today & apparently with the contract thing, well its going to be on my terms... the funny thing is that she lives about 100 yards from my house. So I can walk there and Kevin can take the car & yeah... but isn't it crazy how life can just spit out something for you that is perfect & with a stubborn attitude we just deny it, no matter how many times we get it thrown at us? I wonder what Heavenly Father is thinking... He's probably saying "Hello I gave you this great opportunity & this is what happens, get it through your fat head!!!!"Anyway... That's my thought for the day... It's almost the weekend! YEA!!!!Oh & Shelly, put this base on your wish list, it rocks & if you live out in the area I do, it's pretty much like home...

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Camille got tagged to put up two of her favorite recipes so here are mine since she tagged me, it is simple & easy & doesn't take much time! I am a very busy person & I really don't cook so I use these simple recipes & it makes enough for extras if I want it for lunches.

Campbells Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole (I don't cook so this is as good as it gets)

Well, the time has come! We are finally settled & living life... I have to say it has been a surreal experience... We have had so much happen... For starters, its two hours behind here from Texas so we are always exhausted at 8!!!! Which really sucks... & our church is at 3pm, the most fussy time for Brok. So needless to say, this week, we didn't make it... however, our house rocks, its huge & totally empty right now. We have a bed (king size!!) and sofa & love seat, just picked up our coffee & end table & Brok's crib... that's about all that we have!!Brok spent his first night out of our room last nightn... I am hoping he starts to sleep better now we have a crib for him... We met some of our friends last night that have a little boy the same age as Brok who is crawling & holding his own bottle & stuff. I hope being around him it motivates Brok to start doing some stuff.We don't have too much else going on except that Kevin will probable get to live with me while he is in training... so hopefully tomorrow or at least within the week he will get to move out of the dorms into my house.as for me... WEll I am just glad to be normal and to be able to get settled!!! WE will be here a minimum of 3 years. We actually signed a year lease which we have never done since being married!Good night all!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Well, I write tonight from desolate Tecumcari, NM. We are about 1/3rd of the way to our destination but rules & regulations prevent us from going any farther. We had to stop her because we are only allowed to drive 7hours a day or 500 miles & the way it all worked out, this is where we had to stop... It is such a tiny dinky little town in the desert... we ate at this podunk little restaurant & the waitress accused me of lying about getting mashed potatoes with my food & was really rude... but it was food & about the only food there was!!!It has been a crazy week... and it's only wednesday! Monday I took Brok to the doctor & ended up having to just feed him pedialyte for 24 hours & very diluted formula for a week... So that was a fun stress to add to the mix.And don't even get me started on loading up the car & stuff... we ended up getting lucky and one of the guys in Kevin's class had lots of room in his car for a lot of our stuff... Our car is totally full to the rim & roof!!!Oh & we now have a crack in our windshield because of having to hit our brakes too hard... isn't that dandy?Well, from tucumcari i say good night & that only 2days from now, I will be in my home on my nice big bed!!!!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Wow... when things happen to us, they happen to us big!!! This weekend was good and bad for us... Good: Well, I got a call late on Thursday night that the nanny job I had been wanting wanted me so I was stuck... I prayed so hard that I would make the right decision... Luckily, the lady wanted all kinds of strange things for me to do so I declined & was offered another part time job working on my days I don't for my real job so I will be able to come visit!And then we got a lot packed up and ready to ship to ArizonaBad: Friday all day Brok was sick, fever & all and the docs wouldn't get him in or refer me off base so I got to deal with a sick baby all weekend! which luckily for me, he isn't too bad of a sick kid... Then Friday, I got food poisoning & it was coming out both ends! horrible cramps & it threw me off! so I wake up on saturday, not feeling like I slep really but luckily, Kevin had sort of taken over with brok but he wakes up and what do you know, he is super sick too! funny thing is, the only thing we ate the same of was three days sooner & as far as I know, it should have hit sooner if it was that! so he had to be at the air show at the air force base at 10 for accountability & he couldn't hardly stand... here I am still sick & I have to make sure he is ok & brok too. So we get some meds for us all (no infant tylenol but luckily I planned ahead) and we did well. We watched some really cool planes & got a lot of fresh air. But unfortunately around 130 or so, Kevin got hit real bad with a head ache & had to rest. So I pushed brok in his stroller another 3 miles to the car & came to get him. however, I was facing into the sun & didn't thin about it but I got a good ole sunburn... Now my nose is bright red & my face hurts & my scalp itches from peeling already & my chest area where my shirt didn't cover looks like a crab! & since kevin was in his blues (the nice uniform with out a bill on the hat) he has a great looking burn on his face... Brok somehow escaped with not any sun (not sure how...) Good: we woke up today & feel much better... got a lot of packing done & only have 2 days til we leave!!! Brok however, still has bad diarhea so we have to make a trip to the doc tomorrow on top of having to get more boxes so we can ship things, go to two different banks to pay different things, finish packing my house, load my car, get the oil changed & tires rotated & take stuff to the air man's attic which for you non-military is where you can go get items for your house for free if you're a certain rank & below. mostly its where people who are movign take things they don't want to take with or couldn't sell. I have some really nice things to take like a microwave & baby stuff. also tomorrow I have to clean out my car, get kevin at 5 & clean my house. !!!! Wow... I hate moving! luckily, i won't be doing much next time & it won't be for a while! We get to come to st george to visit soon so friends, I hope to see you!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Okay so another day... yeah, today all my hopes were totally crushed... actually, not really, I just feel like everything is about to crash down on me!!!!To start out my day, I woke up feeling as if I hadn't slept a wink! Brok was screaming in his pak n play next to the bed & he had pooed out his diaper, all over! And once again, he felt warm! So after cleaning him up, I go to eat breakfast & what do you know, I have nothing! Somehow I had let myself run out of cream chees & all I had to eat was my lunch stuff... So I didn't eat... Then I realized that it was the 18th & Brok was supposed to get his 6 mo shots on the 10th (the military is very strict in adhereing exactly to the day of when the shots were given) so I had to take him in to get them before it got too late. So we go & wait (they give them separate from at the doctor) and when they finally get to him half hour later, he's fussy & tired. Poor guy. So they poked him twice & he didn't cry but he sure bled. So then I come get online to find out that I in fact didn't get the nanny job right around the corner that I was hoping for as her sitter had bailed on her. So that made my day just even worse. And then, Brok pooed all over again!!! and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. So we go home & when I get there, the dogs have strewn my magazines all over the floor so it was a huge mess. I was not having a great day. Then I decided once Brok was down for his nap (he fought & fought so hard) that I would call to find out why I still hadn't heard back from the apartment complex about the deposit I had sent that was supposed to be refundable. Well apparently, they just didn't want to call me back & tell me that somewhere in the fifteen page application I signed it said that I would only get the deposit back if it was in 48hrs after I was approved. So there went our money right down the drain... Funny thing is that no one could call me & tell me so here I have been banking on that money & now we don't get it... Needless to say that just about topped off my wonderful day... Luckily it did get better... I found a better nanny job, only two days a week & a date night for them which Kevin does get to come with on & it's only ten bucks less a week than the one I really wanted. It is a bit further away but there are somethings that you just gotta give... And she really wants me, she said... so that was the highlight of my day. luckily, only 5days left til we are out!!!!!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

This is him & his teddy bear. We had a scare the other day, we lost it! Luckily, it was just on the ground but it had been run over!!! I guess it just gives it character, he was mad though, he kept getting mad about it when he would look at the back of the bear. He has to have it to sleep though!

I love this picture of him. We had this shirt that said 9-12 months

but when i put it on, it wouldn't go over his head, so Kevin decided

to try. Needless to say, it was stuck. He just played it up though!

This is while we were riding the trolley in Dallas, He wasn't really sure what to think & he's learned that when the camera is on, he doesn't smile!

This is the most recent family picture we have & its a really far away one. But it'll do for now!

Ok so a lot of my family hasn't seen Brok since we moved, ok everyone but Becky & Eric & Gary & JoAnne so here are some more recent pictures of him. He will be seven months old in six days! I can't believe it's been that long!!!! Each day is an adventure with us!

On the 5th of October we drove to Dallas to stay with my mom's brother Gary & his wife JoAnne and visit for a while. We had so much fun, swimming with Brok & patches & going out on the boat, Brok wasn't so sure at first, too much wind in his face but then we figured out if we hide him he liked it. Sooo... He would cry when we stopped but loved when we went fast! I will get a picture of him in his life jacket up ASAP.

Also, there are a few pictures of us riding the trolley through some place in downtown Dallas, and though its not close up, this is our family more recently! hope you like the pictures!

Ok my computer won't let me add the new pictures so i need to go back & do some reconfig. I promise new pics soon!!!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Kevin got his class pictures back today & his individual ones & this is it. I love it, I think he looks gorgeous in uniform! (and I helped him iron it sort of... I just watched actually!!!!) That's his plane in the background, the F-16. He loves the plane. I tell you, he is only in school for 5months total & he learns everything about the plane (so do I as i help him study) and there is a lot to learn!!!! So far since he's been in school, he's gotten the "Fit to Fight" & "Top Dawg" awards, the first for meeting certain physical fitnes standards (like running a mile & a half in 11:13 or something like that) and the second for acing all his tests & his instructor nominated him for it. He won out of 5 for the day shift. I'm very proud!

I am packing our house up, but really, there's not a lot to pack because in order to fit it in the car, it can't be packed! So basically, I'm going through and deciding what we can ship & can live without if it doesn't get there on time! I tell ya it's a lot easier going through a two bed apartment than a four bed house like I did moving to here!

I am slowly finding out that people in Phoenix are stuck up and rude... that does not make me want to move there. You have to dig deep to find those that don't care about what your email address is or what you put as a title to an ad! Today I posted on craigslist advertising myself as a nanny & I happened to pick the title pick me pick me & some lady wrote me a nasty email saying that I was unoriginal & that I stole her title that she had posted like a month ago. And then I had a lady rip on me that my email was a turn off to her (its honeylover122 and I've had it for so long that it would be difficult to change!) and that I needed to present myself more professionally. The thing is that these two had to take time out of their busy lives to dog on me when I am doing the same thing they are, looking for a job! Seriously what is wrong with people!

Anyway, I woke up today to fog so thick that I couldn't see the freeway that is like across the street from me! And it was cold! It's finally starting to cool off. Yeah!

Monday, October 15, 2007

So today was full of ups and downs... Brok is feeling better but Kevin isn't... We got paid & it was bigger than expected but now it has to pay bills... I got the job I was hoping for but she wants to meet me first before she can be fully sure... it's been really crazy...

But... Only 8 days til we move... and get into our house... that's what's the most exciting for us.

Brok has found that he likes phones now. He grabbed my phone from me today and called some random number without me realizing & then proceeded to hit himslef in the face with it while trying to get it to his ear &/or mouth! he is growing so fast. Still not sitting up without assistance but he is really good at sitting on our laps & learned today that he can hold onto the handle in the shopping cart and he won't fall over. We can't wait til he can be mobile & then i know we'll wish he wasn't!

Good news just came from kevin, we get up front money to travel (we thought we were going to have to pay our way with credit cards & be reimbursed becasue his orders came really late) so that will help! yeah!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

1. Who is your man? Kevin Grant (& Brok Grant of course)2. How long have you been together? married almost 2 years, known each other little past that3. How long did you date? 4 months from time dating to marriage date4. How old is your man? 23 almost!5. Who eats more? He snacks a lot but I can eat more in one sitting since i don't snack as much

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did... He said guess what & then said it.7. Who is taller? He is, by a lot of inches.8. Who sings better? That would have to be him...9. Who is smarter? We balance each other, he is street & other smart, i'm very book smart10. Who's temper is worse? I don't think either of us have a temper!11. Who does the laundry? We both do.12. Who does the dishes? I do cause he is staying at the dorms due to dumb rules13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? looking at it, he does but laying on it me..14. Who pays the bills? I do15. Who is better with the computer? I probably am16. Who mows the lawn? Neither, we don't have one...17. Who cooks dinner? Me. I actually like to.18. Who drives when you are together? He drives most of the time. He doesn't like me to!19. Who pays when you go out? Whoever has their card out first, but mostly Kevin20. Who is most stubborn? Probably me. Even though we're not very stubborn.21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me.22. Whose parents do you see the most? we used to see his but now, we don't see either!!!23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me24. Who asked who out? Well... not sure!25. Who proposed? He did, of course.26. Who is more sensitive? Oh wow, me... but when it comes to Brok, he is27. Who has more friends? I'd say about the same28. Who has more siblings?me29. Who wears the pants in the family? sometimes me, sometimes him

This is the most recent family picture that I have! It is from when we went to see Kevin graduate from Basic Training & is really bad because I am holding the camera out & Brok is staring at me!!!! But here is a good picture of Kevin!!!

Well, today was quite the day in that Brok slept from about 6pm last night til approximately 6pm tonight only waking a few times and at the longest was awake only 45min. He also had a fever of at least 100.5 or lower until about 6pm when it spiked to 101 (we know, nothing to worry right?) So we decide after calling the after hours nurses line and being told they will call back in an hour (what if he was dying!!) and the er at the hospital I was told to go to for my kidney stone telling us that we should come in, we decided to take him in because he was not acting at all normal. So we get there & are waiting when I got a phone call from the nurses line & after asking some strange questions (are all his body parts moving correctly>) they told us we were at the wrong er for "his disposition" since he wasn't grumpy all the time. So we decided to go see if we can't get him so ib profen to help with the fever & tylenol only to realize that every store has taken it off the shelves!!! Yeah , not the way we wanted to spend our evening...so anyway, he's feeling better, fever has gone down & he's slepping again. This is going to be a busy week for us, Kevin has to go to all his outprocessing appointments & we have to decide exactly what we are shipping to arizona & what we can take with us in the car. We are also trying to schedule getting everything done and wishing that my dad was here to help us pack the car! He is really good at getting the most in the tiny space we have. Luckily for us, we now have a little more room since selling the stroller.overall, it's been a busy weekend & it's gong to be a full week! We have an air show this weekend that is definately going to cut into our packing time but hey, only nine days left right> then life can settle down & we can get into a routine that will hopefully be good!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Brok loves his RainForest Jumperoo, this is right after we moved out here to texas, about the 3rd of July, his feet can't touch yet but alas, three months later, we have had to raise it because he is so tall! At his 6mo check up, he weighed 16lbs, 10oz (only gaining 8lbs in 6mo) and was 27in. he is overall in the 25th % for his gender & age. Like i said, he's tall & skinny!

Well, we finally got our orders on thursday & we leave good old Texas in ten or eleven days & we could not be happier!!!! We have found us a cute little house in Buckeye Arizona that will fit us so good! I got a job as a nanny which I am so excited about because Brok gets to come, in fact, she wanted someone with at least one kid!!! It will help with finances too and keep me busy and not getting fat!!!We also got rid of Brok's infant seat, he was way too long for it so that everytime i would get him in and out, he would have to pull his feet up or they would get stuck!!! He now has a converitble car seat that can be forward or rear facing. I was a little sad to see him grow up but he loves it, he has more room to move & he can see better, it sits up better. Dad is happy cause he also got a new stroller, a nice Jeep umbrella stroller & it "has cool wheels & a pillow" for Brok. He's growing like a weed! You would not know he was my baby though, he looks just like kevin!! I am excited to get back out west, i have to admit, i have gotten majorly homesick the past few weeks, i mean who can blame me, i just sit at home all day! I miss everything about st. george including the weather, it's been low 90's this past week& it's almost november! Well, not much else for today except that I miss everyone & can't wait to get home!!!!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Well we are still waiting... so far we have no orders and without orders, we can't go anywhere! the good thing, if kevin graduates before they get here, he gets to spend the days with us.

So today I bought Brok this monkey toy that rolls around and he loves it. I also started this new eating and exercising bit, I only eat the suggested serving size of anything and then I have these mom & baby exercises... so far, I am not sore and I am feeling good, I didn't even eat a lot today!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Well we only have 2 weeks left here in good old Wichita Falls, TX. Kevin graduates from his first technical training school working as a crew chief for the F-16 fighter planes. He loves is. Ashley is learning a lot too! It's been an interesting experience here in Texas, Ashley living alone is a strange place only knowing two people (both of which are now life long friends!) and Kevin living a normal weekend life but being under the strict thumb of the air force during the week! It sure has taught us to become more reliant on each other! Brok is growing like a weed, today we practiced sitting alone, he sort of has it, he will place his hands on the floor to balance but as soon as they are gone he topples to the left side! He also did something new today, he pushed up on his hands and scooted his knees up under his chest, the first signs of crawling!!!! I can't wait til he is mobile. I know, I will wish he wasn't but it would be so much fun!!! Well that is all I have for tonight as my battery is dying on the laptop. I will post new picutes and more blogs tomorrow!

My Babies Birthdays!

Kevin & Ashley Beal

About Me

We have been married 4 years & currently live outside Phoenix, AZ with our cute little Bubba & our sweet little. Kevin is Serving in the Air Force as an F-16 crew Chief & Ashley stays home with Brok & Lukas runs her own business!